A simple tweet, made this morning, as I pondered what government is actually for…

It concerns me deeply to imagine the almost two thousand children who are awakening this morning in their homeless temporary accommodation…mostly Bed and Breakfast only hotels!

I live in a comfortable little cottage, but grew up in circumstances not dissimilar to the homeless children of Ireland today, in that I was a child of an economically disadvantaged family.

This is what economic inequality looked like in Ireland 53 yrs ago…that’s me on the left.

Eleven children living in a two bed-roomed terraced house.

Yet over half a century ago, despite the cramped conditions, we had a house we called home!

My mother lived a long healthy life despite birthing eleven children…here she was in her eightieth year at Bealtaine Cottage.

There should not be a homeless crisis here in Ireland…or anywhere for that matter!

There were 5,811 people ‘officially homeless’ in emergency homeless accommodation in February 2016 – an increase of 48% over the previous February. This figure includes adults (3,930) and children with their families (1,881), but it does not include the ‘hidden homeless’ who are living in squats or ‘sofa surfing’ with friends or people who are living in domestic violence refuges.

~ http://www.focusireland.ie/resource-hub/about-homelessness/

If every country in the western world can find endless money for war and bankers…need I say more?

The Irish Government should be particularly ashamed this morning in the wake of yesterdays revelations that over sixty per cent of all houses sold last year in Ireland were to cash buyers…most of whom commanded the wealth of so-called Vulture Funds!

vulture fund

noun

FINANCE

plural noun: vulture funds

a fund which invests in companies or properties which are performing poorly and may therefore be undervalued.

In this so-called republic, for any child to go to bed hungry or awaken in cramped squalor is an utter disgrace.

Bealtaine Cottage Good Life membership is 12 euros per year and allows me a small income to continue to grow the Bealtaine Project both here in Ireland and in the hearts and minds of good people all over the world.

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7 thoughts on “Homelessness and Vulture Capitalism”

Right on, Colette…and it seems to be happening all over the world. We have hundreds, if not thousands, of empty houses and condos here in Vancouver.
“Investors” are sitting on these empty homes, which are often replaced with very expensive ones. New homes in some areas of our city cost more than 4 million dollars (Cdn.) and up to 20 million dollars and more. These are sold to extremely wealthy people, some of whom are billionaires, let alone millionaires. Meanwhile, we have a huge, growing, homelessness issue. Rental stock in Vancouver has fallen to .6%, and many people are giving up and moving to less expensive areas. Greed, lack of compassion, and callousness are rampant. But I have faith in humanity, and am not giving up hope! Some of us are working, even in small ways, towards positive changes.

Which serves the human spirit most? More restriction or less restriction? More freedom or less freedom? Is poverty of the spirit a greater threat than financial poverty? Can one be poor and happy? What is poverty? Is it inner or outer? If every person was guaranteed a living wage, would that produce utopia? Should there be ownership of land at all?

Conditions are similar here in the states. Houses sit empty while homeless people can’t afford upkeep or taxes or insurance or repairs. Last week an older woman in a “nice” neighborhood died during the heat wave because her air conditioning wasn’t working (too expensive? Not aware she was eligible for assistance?) “Cooling” stations were set up for those without a/c, but people often refuse to go because they’re afraid someone may rob their homes while they’re gone. In a neighboring community, some low-income people were evicted from an apartment building when the landlord hadn’t met certain safety requirements. They had already paid deposits, first-month rent, and this state’s required occupancy fee. The city official made no mention of offering these people any support in trying to find other accommodation.